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Indonesians fear bird flu will deprive them of shuttlecocks

JAKARTA: Badminton-crazy Indone­sia are concerned a deadly bird flu outbreak could claim an unlikely victim – the shuttlecock – officials said yesterday after the government ban­n­ed imports of Chinese duck feathers.

Jakarta is to halt the import of all Chinese poultry products, including dried duck feathers used to make shuttlecocks, after the new H7N9 bird flu strain killed seven people and made 24 ill in eastern China.

The Indonesian Badminton Asso­ciation (PBSI) said the decision could lead to a dearth of shuttlecocks as 40% of those used in the country are imported from abroad, mainly from China.

“I hope the ban won’t last long as I’m afraid that it will have an impact” on the supply of shuttlecocks, PBSI spokesman Ricky Subagja said, adding professional players in the country mainly used shuttlecocks from China.

Indonesia are a former badminton powerhouse but have seen their fortunes on the international stage wane, with Chinese shuttlers now dominating the sport.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Rus­man Heriawan confirmed yesterday that Indonesia had decided to halt the import of all poultry products from China.

No cases of H7N9 have been report­ed in Indonesia but officials said they were stepping up monitoring of poultry deaths and influenza-related illnesses in humans.

The country has been the hardest hit by the H5N1 strain of bird flu, with 160 fatalities reported between 2005 and 2012 out of more than 365 deaths worldwide, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) figures.

The WHO said on Monday there was no evidence that H7N9, which China revealed just over a week ago had been found in humans for the first time, was spreading between people. — AFP